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Environmental permitting

The Environmental Permitting system simplifies permit applications, amendments and variations for both industry and regulator and thereby cuts unnecessary red tape. It allows regulators to focus resources on medium and high-risk operations whilst continuing to protect the environment and human health.

Environmental Permitting is one of Defra’s Better Regulation initiatives which aims to improve regulatory activities, cut admin burdens and focus on the delivery of a better service to customers..

Latest news

September 2011 – Guidance on exemptions from radioactive substances legislation in the United Kingdom
September 2011 – Updated Radioactive Substances Regulation Guidance
September 2011 – Updated Core Environmental Permitting Guidance
August 2011 – Government response to consultation on Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
August 2011 – Delay to the coming into force of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

Key facts and figures

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 have produced a single regulatory framework by streamlining and integrating

Waste Management Licensing,
Pollution Prevention and Control,
Water discharge Consenting,
Groundwater Authorisations, and
Radioactive Substances Regulation.

The following Directives were fully or partially transposed through the EP Regulations:

The introduction of this single more proportionate and risk-based system is expected to deliver savings of £120,000 to businesses and regulator.

What is the current situation and background

The Environmental Permitting Regulations 2010 came into force on 6 April 2010.

The EP Regulations 2010 provide industry, regulators and others with a single extended permitting and compliance system and includes those systems for discharge consenting, groundwater authorisations and radioactive substances regulation. Environmental Permitting also provides a tool for delivering the permitting and compliance requirements of EU directives such as those relating to the Batteries Directive and Mining Waste Directive.

The permitting parts of the Batteries Directive were transposed through the Environmental Permitting Regulations on 5 May 2009. The Government transposed the Mining Waste Directive into UK law through the Environmental Permitting with the Environment Agency as the principal competent authority. The transposing regulations came into force on 7 July 2009.

We are also looking to incorporate Water Abstraction and Impoundment Licensing into the single permitting system for which the first session Water Bill might provide the necessary legislative power.

A post implementation review was carried out in 2010 to establish the effectiveness of the first phase of the Environmental Permitting Programme which merged Waste Management Licensing and Pollution Prevention and Control into a single system. A summary of the post implementation review is now available:

Summary, Post Implementation Review – Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2007

We updated you in February about a delay in progressing the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations, pending a cross Government position on civil sanctions for England more generally before measures in specific sets of regulations are taken forward. While this has been resolved, we are now having to satisfy additional scrutiny requirements and expect the regulations now to be laid in the Autumn in England and Wales, coming into force on 6 April 2012. Provisions transposing two articles from the Carbon Capture and Storage Directive will came into force in July. DECC’s implementation of the outcome of the RSR exemption review is due to come into force via EP amending regulations 2011 on 1 October. Please contact the regulator, the Environment Agency, for information on how to apply for, transfer and surrender a permit.

Local Authorities

Local authorities are responsible for regulating some 19,000 facilities, mostly to control air emissions, but in limited cases to enforce integrated pollution prevention and control. They also have limited responsibilities in relation to waste exemptions. See:

environmental permitting guidance relevant to the Local Authority Pollution Control regime, in particular the LAPC General Guidance Manual

How did we get here?

We consulted stakeholders on our draft policy, regulations and the Impact Assessment and have taken account of your consultation comments and suggestions in the draft regulations where possible. We have incorporated any resulting changes into the government guidance, along with your feedback from the government guidance consultations.